One job that seems never ending here on the farm is clearing brush. About 2 years after we purchased the main farm, 51 acres right next to us was repossessed by the bank. We were able to get an amazing deal from the bank for the land. One of the main reasons it was so cheap was because the individual who had owned the land had done nothing with it for over 8 years. This left the land overgrown with weeds and small trees. I have spent the last 3 years trying to get the pastures on the 51 acres back to full production.
This has involved getting our goat herd to devour all the weeds and small trees. However the predominate tree that grows here in our part of Kentucky, when the land is left to itself, is the hedge apple. This is a very thorny tree that produces huge apple like fruit. The problem with this type of tree is that it spreads like crazy and is so thick that it will not allow any grass to grow under or around it. And the “fruit” is not edible.
The picture above shows what we are trying to clear. The goats do an amazing job of cleaning up all the small trees and brush but these bigger trees need to be cut down. We do not clear cut the pastures. We leave all the good trees to grow up. We have a lot of young walnuts and hickory trees coming up. We love these trees and clear around them to give them the best chance of making it.
One of our goals here on the homestead/farm is to increase the wildlife habitat, when we cut down all the hedge apple trees we make large brush piles.
We have these brush piles all over our property. When we purchased the farm we had very few rabbits or quail. We have found that these brush piles have made great habitat for rabbits and quail. It gives them a place to hide from predators and have their young. We love seeing wildlife on our homestead and anything we can do to increase their numbers we try and do.
It is hard to tell from the picture above but what we have been trying to do is clear the hillsides and leave the lower valleys go with brush for cover for the wildlife. This gives the deer a place to bed down and food for the wildlife.
It has been a lot of work but we are trying to slowly increase the production of our farm and at the same time increase the natural habitat for wildlife. We are firm believers that you can do both. It just takes some time and effort.
Hedge Apples (we call them Osage Oranges in my part of the country) are a real pain!
When I was a kid we cut and cured them for fence posts, walking sticks and recurve bows if they were straight enough.
The sucker growth would come back for several years.
Girdling the regrowth after the initial clearing worked well.
Yes they are a pain. The goats take care of the regrowth. They love the stuff. We burn some of it for heat. It burns really hot
51 acres is a ton to maintain!
Goats worked great to help clean the weeds and small unwanted trees in our pasture also. Got to work with mother nature.
Nice post thanks
Agree. The goats are an amazing natural tool.
Brush Clearing... Hard, but undeniably honest work!
You ever do any quail or rabbit hunting? Tasty tasty!
I like the quail to much to hunt them. I love seeing them. We do not eat rabbits. I am sure it would be fun though. Yes clearing brush is hard honest work
Ah gotcha... No matter what its very cool that the population is thriving!
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Now for my real comment! lol
I absolutely can appreciate this goal you have. Bringing wildlife back to us is so key; with the spread of the urban sprawl, so many creatures have gone further away.
I agree. We love watching all the wildlife from our back porch.
Those hard, never-ending jobs give you a special satisfaction at the end of the day, I imagine taking a shower after that feels rewarding by itself.
That is so true. I love looking back and seeing my progress. It is very rewarding.
I like the fact that you are allowing trees to grow! Might as well allow some of them to grow especially if they will give something back to you one day! Are you a STIHL man or do you like other chainsaws? I'm thinking I am going to need to get one this spring!
We r trying best we can to get a lot of good quality trees to grow on our farm. I am a STIHL guy. Definitely more expensive but in my opinion worth every cent.
I have used one of those before, I always seem to have an issue starting it...like it should not be that hard, maybe it was the one I was using but it was brand new! Have any thoughts on Husqvarna?
I had one of those that lasted almost 20 years
Sounds like you would also recommend one from them too!
dont think you would go wrong with either one
Thanks for the advice...if I get one I will do a post about it and the big old tree and the meeting of them!
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It seems like we are always battling this tree, they seem to grow everywhere! Good luck! Have you thought about implementing some permaculture practices into the planing for those pastures? Erosion control is always on my mind, something we are always battling.
Yes we are using permaculture. We love it.
Good for you guys! What part of KY you guys from?
We r about 45 miles north east of Lexington
We are down in Wayne Co. close to Lake Cumberland a couple hours south of you guys, if you are ever in the area let us know!
Same to you!!!
I wonder if the hedge apple you have is the same thing we call crab apples here. Our land was covered with them. They have huge thorns 2 or 3 inches long and produce fruit that are golf ball sized. We have let several of our acres go to the blackberry plants and the animals love it.
Our hedge apples have thorns about 1 inch and the fruit is softball size and green. Crab apples sound worse;)
I win at something! but, it's having the worst scrub trees :(
Haha
man, that reminds me a lot of mama & daddy's land - they have 50 acres out in central texas, with smatterings of mesquite trees here & there.
good for you for helping the natural wildlife to flourish! it helps to bring balance to the ecosystem
I was curious how you got your farm land. Thanks for answering. Do you plan to hunt any of the wildlife?
It was truly a blessing from the Lord. We moved 9 times with the Air Force. My wife and I flipped houses every time. We sunk every penny we had into the farm and my parents are also investers in the farm.
Great story and good stewardship! Thanks for your service.
Yes we do hunt but only what we eat. Just deer and turkey.
I've hunted quail and rabbits. These days I don't really care to eat the rabbits though. I sure do enjoy seeing them around my place (except when they are in my garden.)
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Clearing land is hard work... but so rewarding when you are able to get the wildlife to come back as well as have open pasture to raise your cattle and goats. Great job!
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